Dancing with Wolves
by hannah bo banana
Summary: La Push is adjustment in more ways than one. To start, Nora isn't used to people being nice. Her life has been constant competition with her friends, rehearsals and a steady stream of harsh criticism coming from all angles. On top of that there's a bunch of teenage boys running around with their shirts off in the middle of Winter. Weirdos.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi and welcome! I read Twilight when I was fourteen in high school, almost ten years ago now and have always been more interested in the wolf pack dynamics. There won't be much Cullen action here but I certainly don't do that weird thing where fairly likeable characters suddenly turn into horrendous villains.**

 **Hope you like it!**

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1.

Nora Redtree eyed the building in front of her distastefully. School on the La Push Rez was going to be far different than what she was used to, not the least being the lack of white people she was used to back in Chicago. She had been the one to stand out at The Ballet Academy she had been attending for the last four years, her russet skin a marker of her difference. Here, she blended into the crowd, and in a lot of ways, Nora was glad for it.

"Come on, Nora," James Redtree, her cousin nudged her shoulder, pushing her forward.

She smiled at him weakly and then followed him through the doors and into the hallways that were surprisingly busy for a school so small. He lead her to the office and dropped her off with the woman behind the counter, dropping a kiss on the top of her head, before sweeping back out into the crowd, carving a path with his tall frame.

"Miss Redtree," the receptionist, who had introduced herself as Mrs. Carter, called her attention with a smile, "I have your schedule here and your locker combination. If you could get each of your teachers to sign this form for me and drop it off later this afternoon that would be wonderful."

Nodding at the kind woman gratefully, Nora took a deep breath and went back into the hallway, determined to find her locker and make it to her first class on time. She looked at the watch on her wrist and swore under her breath – the first bell would ring soon and she had no idea where she was going. James had promised her that he would get her here with plenty of time, but he had taken so long to get himself ready this morning they had left fairly late. She wanted to kill him. He had disappeared too, so she couldn't even ask him for help.

"You look lost," a deep voice said from behind her.

Hand on her heart she spun around and was surprised by the largest boy she had ever seen grinning at her from ear to ear. He was well over 6 foot, as broad as a line backer, and with more muscles than was fair for any one person. Voice lost, all she could do was nod pathetically.

He chuckled at her. "Show me your papers."

She handed them over without complaint and watched carefully as he scrutinised them carefully. He smiled at her and gave them back. "Your lockers near mine, I'll take you."

"Thank you," she said quietly, following as he began walking. She walked quickly to try and keep up with his long strides. She marveled at the way people moved out of his way as they saw him coming, and tried to ignore the funny looks she got off some people when they noticed her with him. Eventually, he stopped and leaned up against a bank of lockers, and gestured to the one on his left.

"This is you," he said kindly.

She smiled shyly. "Thanks."

"I'm Seth Clearwater," he said, "you must be Nora Redtree?"

"How do you know my name?" Nora asked him with some surprise.

Seth laughed loudly, attracting some attention from those around them. "Nora, you'll learn quick, this is a very small town, everyone knows everything."

"Great," she muttered under her breath as she closed her locker door. "Any chance you could point me in the direction of Junior English?"

He pushed himself off the locker effortlessly and nodded. "Sure, it's actually a shared class with the Seniors so I'm headed there myself."

She thanked him gratefully as he smiled and led her back down the hallway they had come from. It was such a small building that they didn't have to go far and after only walking a few hundred meters Seth was showing her the classroom. Unfortunately, they were a little late so the rest of the class was inside and all turned to watch her as she walked in. Her teacher, her schedule told her his name was Mr. Carter, waved her in impatiently.

"Come along now," he urged her, reaching out to take the form in her hands. "And how nice to see you Mr. Clearwater, we are certainly very blessed today."

The boy grinned cheekily and sauntered into the room, straight into a seat down the back next to another boy nearly as big as he was, and leaning back onto the back legs of his chair.

"Miss Redtree," Mr. Carter said, pulling back her attention, "I guarantee everyone here knows your name by now so I'll spare you the meet and greet. Take any empty seat and keep up as much as you can."

Grateful that she wouldn't have to introduce herself, Nora scurried to an empty desk, on the other side of the room from the one person who had been kind to her today, and slouched down to avoid what seemed like the stares of every other teenager there. Luckily for her, the content was similar to what it had been back in Chicago so she didn't feel too lost, even if most of her time had been spent in a studio rather than a classroom. Soon enough, the signal to the end of class went and the rush of students to the door was a little frightening. Nora kept back until there was a clearer path before heading out herself, Mr. Collins pulling her aside to look at her schedule quickly and pointing her in the right direction. Biology, she groaned internally, she hated science. She didn't understand any of it and it had been years since she'd had to do any. It hadn't been a requirement once she hit the advanced levels. As soon as the class had started and the teacher, a young and pretty white woman called Ms. Sanders, was talking them through the task Nora tuned out. She didn't have a clue what they were saying. She was startled out of her daydream by a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey, you're James' cousin right?" a girl was standing by her desk, and belatedly, Nora realised that people in the room were all moving around.

"Oh, uh, yeah," she stuttered, forcing a smile.

"Cool," the girl said, taking a seat next to Nora. "I'm Sarah, he's a friend of mine. Wanna be lab partners?"

Nora nodded enthusiastically. "But I will warn you that I haven't taken any kind of science course since I was a Freshman so I know basically nothing."

Sarah looked at her strangely. "No science at all?"

"It wasn't a requirement for me and I always sucked at it," she shrugged.

"Oh well," Sarah said brightly, "it's your lucky day. I'm pretty good at Biology so I'll help you out, see what I can do to help you catch up."

Nora thanked her profusely and did her best to pay attention as she walked her through the day's lab. She was a good teacher, she thought, she went through everything step by step and did her best to explain it all in simpler terms but Nora was not hopeful about her chances in this class.

* * *

By the time she got to lunch Nora was feeling fairly tired. So far, none of her teachers had made her introduce herself, all commenting on the fact that everyone on the Rez knew her name already so there was no point really. Double-edged sword, Nora thought, she may not have had to stand in front of a bunch of strangers and talk about herself but she was clearly the current source of town gossip. Walking into the cafeteria she glanced at the food on offer but scrunched her nose at the unappetizing options. It looked like it would be home packed lunches for the time being.

"Not eating Birdy?" James asked, slinging an arm over her shoulder heavily.

"I don't think I could get any of that down," she said truthfully, poking at a lump of… something on his own plate.

"Yeah," he said, looking at his lunch consideringly, "I guess it's not exactly the nutrition plan you've been on for the last few years." He shrugged. "Oh well, come on and I'll introduce you to some friends of mine."

Arm still slung over her shoulder he steered her over to one of the tables in the middle of the cafeteria. She sighed, she should have known he'd be one of the loud guys at school, he had always given off that energy. On the way over to his friends they passed Seth sitting with his friend from English and a few other boys, all as big as the first two, and all as intimidating. She was unsure if she should greet him but he solved that problem for her by nodding his head and sending her a two-fingered salute.

"What was that about?" James asked her, eyeing the boys at the table suspiciously.

"Hmm?" Nora asked, confused. "You mean Seth? He helped me find my locker and English this morning after the only other person I know around here took off on me."

James rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah sorry about that, I didn't think about it really."

"Either way, Seth helped me out and he was nice to me."

James grunted. "Yeah he can be charming but you'd do best to keep your distance, trust me on that."

She recognised the stubborn tone to his voice and decided it would be better not to argue, even though she was itching to ask him what the big deal was. She'd ask him later, she thought, when she could escape to her room when they inevitably butted heads. Not caring if James was watching or not, Nora smiled and waved back at Seth.

As they reached James' table she saw Sarah sitting with them and was relieved when she stood up and greeted her loudly, taking Nora's arm and pulling her down into the seat next to her.

"Everyone," she announced, drawing the eyes of the others at the table. "This is Nora, James' cousin. Yes, we know she's new, no, we're not going to be annoying and ask her for her life story on the first day." She turned to Nora and winked. "That's for tomorrow."

Nora laughed and waved at the group who all waved back and said hello. James looked satisfied and smiled at Sarah, who blushed and looked away. Interesting, Nora thought, they would make a good couple, she decided. Both were tall and athletic and Sarah was very pretty, with high cheekbones and eyes so dark they looked black. Her thick hair was kept short, in a cute bob just longer than her ears and it swung prettily around her face. There were five others who were regulars at the table, three guys – Kaden, Zack and Trey, the former being James' best friend, and two girls – Georgina and Destiny. When Nora introduced Destiny the girl grimaced and rolled her eyes.

"Dee, please," she said dryly.

First impressions told Nora that they were a pretty nice group, nicer and less cut-throat than what she was used to, and it wasn't long before she fell into comfortable conversation with them.

"So where are you from?" Zack asked eventually. Well they hadn't done too badly, when she thought about it, they'd managed to not ask the probing questions for at least twenty minutes.

"Chicago," she said simply.

"God, why would you ever leave the city to come back to a place like this," Georgina said, shocked.

"James missed me and called me everyday for three months begging me to come home to hang out with him," Nora smirked.

James squawked indignantly and glared at his cousin. "Toby, maybe, but not me."

Nora laughed and shook her head. "No, no," she said slowly. "There was just some family stuff going on that meant I had to come here pretty unexpectedly."

Luckily, that seemed enough of an explanation for the others and the subject dropped, though James looked at her in concern. She nodded her head, almost imperceptively, and smiled quickly to let him know she was okay. It was nice, she decided, to sit with her cousins friends and listen to them laugh and talk about their normal lives. There was no judgement about the food on her plate, constant talk about whatever showcase was coming up, who had logged more hours practicing in the studio that week.

At the end of the lunch hour James decided he would do his job as her cousin and walked her to her last class of the day, gym. Finally, something she would not suck at, years of dance meant she was stronger than she looked and fit even if she hadn't been in training for a few months. She changed quickly once in the locker room, never having been quite comfortable with sharing that public a space. She was one of the first people out there and soon realised that the Rez gym was smaller than the typical high schools. It had just one court which was already occupied by a freshman class bouncing basketballs around. Groaning, it struck her that if they weren't going to be inside, they would be outside. She wondered how often that would be happening considering it rained what seemed like 90% of the time in La Push.

"Hey, Nora right?"

Nora looked up from her spot sitting against the wall and was startled to see yet another giant towering over her. Jesus Christ, she thought, what the hell was in the water here? She nodded and tried to smile.

"Cool. You met my friend Seth earlier. I'm Collin," he pointed over his shoulder. "That's Brady over there." There was another boy who was watching the freshman play calling out critiques and laughing as they looked back at him a little fearfully.

She levered herself up to try and get some height back. "Nice to meet you. Are you a Junior too?"

He nodded and grinned. "Sure am. But our classes are mostly doubled with the sophomores because we miss a bit of school. You probably won't get the pleasure of our company."

She laughed. "That probably means there's more room for the rest of us."

He smirked. "You like tall, dark and handsome Nora?"

"Yeah, can you let me know if you see someone?" she rolled her eyes.

"Oooooh, slammed," a new voice entered the conversation. Collin's friend, Brady, seemed to have gotten bored of his hassling the younger kids and sauntered up behind the two. "Sweetheart, it must be your lucky day because your Prince Charming is here."

Before she could respond Collin turned and thumped his friend in the arm which devolved into a wrestling match between the two of them. Nora stepped back, startled as she avoided their limbs flying.

"Littlesea, Fuller," the gym teacher barked as he marched over to them, prompting the boys to let go of each other and lean back against the wall. "Keep it on your own time."

"No worries, Coach," Collin said blithely while Brady grinned at Nora.

"And you must be Nora Redtree," he said, turning to Nora. "James is a great ball player, been on the school team since he was a freshman. I hope you got some of his talent for athletics."

She smiled weakly and gave a half-hearted response.

Not seeming to notice her discomfort, he gestured for her, and by extension the two boys, to follow him outside where it seemed the rest of the class had already convened. To her surprise, one of the boys from James' lunch table, Trey she thought his name was, stood at the front of the group and he smiled and waved her over when he spotted her.

"Didn't know you'd be in this class," he said as she made her way over.

"I didn't realise you weren't a Senior," she said.

He shrugged. "Yeah, me and Zack are neighbours, have been since we were born."

"Well it's nice to have a friendly face around anyway, so I'm not complaining."

"Yeah," he said, shifting on his feet. "Listen, I don't know you and you certainly don't know me but James is my friend so I feel like I should say something so here it goes," he took a deep breath. "Littlesea and Fuller, they've got reputations around here, they can be nice enough guys but I just know that James would be worried if he knew you were hanging around them."

Nora didn't know what to say. On one hand, she was getting a little annoyed with people telling her who to talk to, but on the other she didn't want to turn away a friendly face when there was one.

As though reading her mind, Trey smiled uncomfortably. "Look, just forget I said anything. But just be careful, okay?"

She nodded her head in agreement, glad that she hadn't had to think of something to say to that. One day at a new school and she was already dealing with the dangerous crowd.

Watching Collin and Brady play basketball, on the outside courts, was both bewildering and terrifying. Due to the size of them, both height and width and some pretty impressive muscles, meant that they were easily the strongest ones on the court and sure, there was some moments when they ploughed someone from the other team down, but it was obvious that they were holding back. Until they went up against each other and they slammed around the court. Nora thought it best to hang back and out of the way as much as possible rather than hit the ground and break any bones.

By the end of class she was exhausted just watching them. She felt relieved when she changed back into her clothes and left school knowing that she could go home and relax. Trey walked with her back to the carpark and waved goodbye as she spotted James, hurrying to his car.

He was leaning against the hood and smiled at her slyly as she approached. "That Trey you were walking with?"

She knew what he was implying so Nora glared at him witheringly. "He was being nice. Another person who made sure I wasn't lost so you didn't have to stretch yourself too thin."

He laughed and pulled her into a headlock, ruffling up her hair. "Aw, don't worry Birdy, I knew you'd make it through."

She shoved him off of her and got into the car, not in the mood to deal with his games. He laughed again as he got in beside her and tore off out of the carpark. Nora's hands clenched as she breathed in and out slowly. James was an awful driver, he sped too fast and barely paid attention to what was around him. It took them all of five minutes to get home and she was surprised to see her aunt's car in the driveway. Her aunt and uncle owned a hardware store in Forks which had them both working long hours. James helped out a bit on weekends, and her aunt had said that in the next few months Nora would be able to pick up some shifts too. She walked through the front door and was hit by a tornado of arms and legs that wrapped themselves around her middle and squeezed her tight.

"Toby, let go of Nora please," her aunt called exasperatedly from the kitchen. "Hey honey, how was school?"

Her aunt was a beautiful woman with black hair that she cropped short to her ears. Each morning she spent half an hour arranging it carefully into cool spikes that she said kept her looking young. In addition to running the hardware store, Aunt Therese made traditional jewellery, earrings and necklaces mostly, that she sold in the Rez general store and from town. It was pretty popular with tourists and locals alike. Nora herself always loved getting something new for her birthday each year. Toby was the youngest Redtree, ten years old and the most energetic person Nora had ever meet. He had the same black hair as his parents and was skinny as a stick. He had knobby knees and a gap toothed grin and ran about everywhere. Nora loved him to pieces.

"It was pretty good," she assured Therese, prying Toby off of her and giving him a hug before sicking him on James who was walking in behind her.

She took a seat at the stool in front of the kitchen counter and accepted the cup of milk handed to her with a smile. "Made it to every class, wasn't too lost except for Bio but I've already snagged a study partner."

"Sarah said she'd help her catch up," James announced as he joined them in the kitchen, having shooed Toby off.

"Oh that's good of her," Therese said happily. "I've always liked Sarah, she's a good kid."

Nora agreed and told her aunt so before excusing herself to her room needing to take a minute to breathe. Closing the door behind her she flopped back on her single bed and closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It had been a long day and she was ready to get some sleep but she knew if she napped now she'd be awake in the middle of the night and unable to get so sleep again. Instead, she forced herself to sit up and see to some of her bags that still sat unpacked in the small robe. She grabbed one out and opened it, peering inside to see a stack of photo frames that she had brought with her. Pulling the top one out she smiled at a picture of her mother holding Nora as a toddler at the house they had lived in here in La Push. Before she had died. Before her father had taken her away to the big city where he got a good job and paid for her dance training but forgot that he had a daughter the minute he remarried. The minute he couldn't hide her away at the academy anymore he had organised for her to be back in La Push living with his brother's family, and Nora couldn't bring herself to miss him. She put the picture on her bedside table, moving it around carefully until she was happy with the angle.

As she arranged the rest she smiled at ones of her on stage performing at her best, with friends she had made years ago, and one, right down the bottom of her and her father dancing at his wedding, smiling and laughing in the moment. She studied it for a moment and then sighed, putting it back in the bag and shoving that under the bed.

* * *

 **I will admit to having no set schedule on updates for this story, and I apologise for that. My job keeps me very busy (I'm a teacher) and I just write for fun when I have some free time. But I'll try to get things up to keep the story going anyway. Let me know if you liked it, any constructive criticism is welcome, and hope you enjoyed.**

 **Hannah**


	2. Chapter 2

**A quick update on this one that I cannot promise will continue. I will however do my best to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. Favourite, follow and review at your own leisure.**

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2.

Each day Nora spent at school passed the same at the last, the same classes at the same time, and she would sit at the same table with the same people. It was nice. It was a routine that was new to her and she felt peaceful. Her muscles didn't ache, her feet weren't in constant pain, and she ate chocolate and ice-cream without someone watching her in judgement. Of course she missed dancing. It had been her life for years and she loved the feeling of spinning and flying through the air. Like she was weightless.

"You look sad," Sarah said as she dropped her lunch tray next to Nora's small sandwich. She still couldn't stomach the cafeteria food.

Nora smiled. "Do you know if there are any dance studios local?" she asked.

"Uh, I think there might be one over in Forks. I don't know what it's like though. Or what kind of dancing they do."

"I can always go and check it out," Nora shrugged. She decided then and there that she would get to that studio that afternoon, even if she had to beg and plead James to get her there. She'd walk if it came down to it.

"What are you going to check out?" James sat down on her other side.

"That dance studio over in Forks," Sarah said with a mouthful of cheesy fries.

James stared at her with eyebrows raised and Nora smiled weakly. "Mind giving me a ride?"

He scoffed. "Busy, sorry."

She could have smacked him. Instead she settled for a deep scowl and poking her tongue out immaturely. Sarah looked at him strangely.

"Don't worry about it, I can take you after school if you want?" Sarah offered and Nora thanked her gratefully.

James looked like he was going to make a snide comment so she kicked him swiftly in the shin under the table. Reluctantly he sat back in his seat moodily. He didn't even cheer up as everyone else joined them at the table, though they all made a comment about his attitude. In gym, Trey asked her what was wrong with him but she feigned ignorance and laughed it off.

James had left already by the time she got out to the carpark and Sarah looked puzzled as she said he had zoomed out of there without saying goodbye to anybody.

"He looked super pissed about you going into Forks," Sarah broached the topic carefully.

"It's not Forks really, he's not too happy about me going to dance again." Nora said sheepishly.

Sarah looked as though she was going to burst so Nora put her out of her misery. "I was a ballet dancer for years, I boarded at an academy in Chicago but I got hurt and had to leave. That's why I'm here. James worries."

"Oh, well, okay then. That makes sense."

She changed the subject then, as though sensing Nora's discomfort, and they chatted about school fairly mindlessly. By the time they pulled up outside butterflies had filled Nora's stomach and she swallowed thickly before steeling herself and getting out of the car.

"Are you sure you don't mind waiting?" she checked with the other girl.

Sarah grinned. "I wouldn't miss this dancer girl, I bet they'll make you show them what you've got."

Sarah wasn't wrong. She'd walked in and behind the counter had been the owner, Miss Debbie, who after listening to Nora's spiel about dance experience and her interest in using the studio space had insisted upon a small demonstration. She'd tried to beg ofd due to the fact she did not have any gear with her but Sarah had very unhelpfully reminded her that she had her gym clothes in her bag which included a pair of leggings. So now here she was holding the barre and going through each exercise and movement as the elder dancer gave them to her. She felt some muscles protesting from disuse but they soon loosened up. She felt herself smiling more than usual as she felt at home in her skin for the first time in a long while. When she was finally done Sarah threw her two thumbs up and cheered loudly, making Nora blush and Miss Debbie was smiling at her gently.

"Well, I don't think we have any classes that will cater to your skills, our most advanced students are still a good few years behind you. So I have a proposal for you," she said cheerily.

Nora left feeling completely satisfied. Miss Debbie had hired her to take some of the after school classes to free up some extra time for her in the office, and in exchange she got paid and studio time when the classes were finished.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Sarah said cheerfully as she dropped her off. "We might go to the beach this weekend too, so don't make any plans."

Inside, James was sitting at the kitchen table scowling while Therese sat with her Uncle Robbie watching him worriedly. Toby must have been in his room playing.

"Hello," she said, nervous of the vibe.

James didn't say anything but Therese stood up and hugged her in greeting. "Hey honey," she said. "Take a seat."

Nora sighed but did as she was asked. "I know what you're all thinking –" she began.

"Oh do you?" James said loudly.

She rolled her eyes and Therese put a placating hand on his arm. "Honey, James told us that you went into Forks to see the studio and he's worried about you."

"I get that," she said. "But it's different here. Here I'm not training twelve hours a day, seven days a week living off of salad and protein bars."

"Christ Nora, it's the mindset I'm worried about. It'll go down from here!" her cousin shouted.

"You weren't even there how the hell do you know what my mindset is or was?" Nora shouted back. "You don't know anything about it!"

They were standing now and yelling in each other's faces. James' face was red and his fists were clenched at his side. Nora was on her toes to get closer and her heart was beating hard and fast in her chest. Therese pleaded with the both of them to calm down.

"That's enough," her uncle's deep voice interrupted finally. The two of them immediately feel silent. Her uncle was a quiet guy, big and strong and prone to observation rather than outward advice. "Fact is, Nora's seventeen years old and she's been taking care of herself for the last three years."

"But dad, that's my point, this all happened when she was on her own," James argued.

Robbie held up a hand to stop his son and fixed him with a stern look. "The difference is she lives with us and even though she can take care of herself and make her own decisions we are all here to make sure it's done the right way." Then he turned to Nora, "and you accept our help when we offer it. And remember that James loves you and is looking out for your best interests."

Both teenagers agreed quietly, and Therese clapped her hands giddily.

"Come into the kitchen," she said to Nora, "I want you to tell me all about it while I finish dinner."

Nora ducked around the table on her way into the kitchen and hugged her uncle around the neck, pressing a kiss to his cheek with a whispered thank you, which he returned with a small nod and smile. That was the most she would get from him, she knew, but that was just the way he was.

Therese was excited as she told her about Miss Debbie's proposal and began to talk ideas of how to best get her to Forks.

"James could drop you in on the days he comes to work at the store but once basketball season starts he won't be able to anymore," she thought aloud.

"He could always teach me to drive and I could try to get a car before the season begins," Nora mused.

Therese blanched. "Nora, honey, I love my son but the minute I let him teach anyone a thing about handling a car is the day I chop my own ear off."

Nora laughed and nodded, seeing her point. "So maybe not James. But I'm sure someone around here can drive like a responsible adult."

"Your uncle or I will be able to take you out when we're home, but any extra time you can get behind a wheel will be fantastic."

During dinner Nora told the rest of the family her plans to learn how to drive and everything was back to normal because James began teasing her straight away. Robbie committed to helping her out when he could and he seemed supportive of her learning to drive. She had never had to in Chicago, the L Train got her wherever she needed to go and if that failed a few of her friends at the academy had cars and they would drive.

"Nora," Toby was at her side, tugging on her arm. "I've got a new game for us to play," he whispered in her ear. "Finish your dinner and we'll lock James out of my room."

* * *

On Friday Seth Clearwater sat down in the seat next to hers in English, much to her surprise, and smiled at her toothily. He had been missing since that first day, Collin and Brady too, but he looked tired.

"So how have you settled in? Still getting lost?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No, after about 4 hours I managed to have the general layout of the whole rez down."

"Yeah, I heard you're from Chicago, guess it's a bit more of a maze there."

"If you can navigate the Southside you can navigate La Push."

He scrunched his eyebrows together. "Isn't that the dangerous part?"

"Parts of it, if you're not careful," she shrugged. "Like any place else really." She turned in her seat to look at him carefully, noting the bags under his eyes. "Had a busy week yourself?"

"You missed me Nora?" he teased.

She bit back a smile and shook her head. He was ridiculous, she thought. It was so weird how easily she spoke to him because she had only met him once before and spoken to him for all of ten minutes but he was funny and charming, and the back and forth between them felt natural.

"So, I'm putting ten bucks on that we get a partner project assigned today," Seth said as Mr. Carter walked into the room and called for their attention.

"Right, class," Mr. Carter announced as he put his bag on his desk and adjusted his tie, " _To Kill a Mockingbird_ , you should have read it by now. I want a ten page essay on a topic of your choice, due next month. Partner up boys and girls."

Seth poked her shoulder and smiled cheekily. "I'll let you off the ten bucks if you agree to be my partner."

"Sure," she agreed. "Have you read the book?"

He smiled again and realisation dawned on her. "You haven't read the book have you?" she groaned.

"No, I haven't," he admitted. "But I bet you have more than once and I believe in your ability to write this paper."

She glared at him dully. "I haven't had a normal curriculum since ninth grade Seth, I am not the superstar who's going to pull your grades up."

"Oh," he deflated slightly. "Well, that's fine. I guess we'll have to work harder then."

"Are you going to be at school more?"

He grimaced. "Uh, yeah, I'll try. But I really can't promise you anything right now."

She groaned and dropped her head in her hands. "We are so screwed."

"Cheer up," Seth said, patting her on the back, "at least if we fail it, we fail it together."

"Ah, Clearwater and Redtree," Mr. Carter said as he walked past them handing out the assignment sheet. "Hope the two of you are prepared," he said dryly, looking pointedly at Seth. "I hope to see your attendance improve, even if it's for your partner's sake more than your own."

"Sorry but you're partnered with who?" Georgina asked disbelievingly.

"Ugh, you're so lucky, Seth is gorgeous," Dee said dreamily.

"I just can't believe he was at school," Georgina said.

"Yeah well he's already told me it probably won't last so I'm fairly sure I'll be working on it by myself," she whined.

Dee patted her hand consolingly. "At least when you do see him you'll have something nice to look at. My partner is Brian Green and he has B.O and refuses to wear deodorant."

Nora picked at her salad and grimaced at the wilting green leaves that sat on her plate. Instead she picked out the orange carrot sticks and munched on them. As James settled in beside her he grabbed a carrot from her hand and popped it into his mouth.

"How's your morning been?" he asked her.

"Good, lots of learning to be done," she said.

"Yeah, she's got the best English partner," Dee interjected. Nora shot her a warning look.

"Yep, all ready to go," she said brightly.

"Oh yeah, who've you got?" James said as he started in on his own lunch.

"Just some senior," she said airily. He would not be happy if she told him who her partner was even if she didn't really have a choice. And she didn't really want to change her partner anyway. "Anyway, I have to get some stuff from my locker so I'll meet you in the lot after school?"

He nodded and waved as she said goodbye to the others. The hallways were pretty empty at this time so her footsteps echoed on the cold floors. Stopping at her locker she pulled out an apple she kept in there and decided to go outside. For the first time in a while the sun was out and she relished in the warmth on her skin. Looking around she spotted a table and bench that wasn't occupied and hurried over there, jumping up on the bench and laying back and angling her face to the sun. She smiled and shrugged off her cardigan and sighed happily. She was perched near the basketball courts and there was a group of four guys playing. Glancing over at them she quickly realised that it was Seth and his friends. Made obvious considering the size of them all. She recognised Collin and Brady but hadn't been introduced to the fourth one yet. Considering how they kept popping up she was sure it wouldn't be long.

When the call came to head back inside for the final class of the day Nora lifted a hand in greeting to the boys, who all waved back. Collin and Brady left their friends behind and bounded towards her, the latter slinging an arm over her shoulder and pulling her along with him towards the gym. They wouldn't leave her alone for the whole hour, claiming her for their basketball team, despite her inability to play and not letting her hide in the background. No they kept passing the ball to her and making her play actively, no matter how much she protested. Trey caught her eye at one point and raised his eyebrows pointedly, which she ignored resolutely.

"So are you going to that beach party on Saturday night?" Collin asked her as they headed back inside to change when the game was over.

"Um, I think so. Sarah mentioned something about it the other day," she said.

Collin nodded. "We'll be there. But we'll be where all the cool people sit. Sorry, you're not invited," he smirked.

She shoved him and then swore quietly. It was like trying to push a house over his arm was that rock hard. She rubbed her wrist gingerly. "Whatever," she snarked. "You'd just eat all the food anyway."

Brady barked out a laugh. "You have no idea Nora."

They reached the locker rooms where they'd separate and Brady smiled at her. "Don't listen to this idiot, Nora, if you see us don't be scared to come say hello."

She promised him she would before going into the locker room and changing as quickly as she could. James was dropping her off at the studio on his way to work so she threw her leotard and tights on underneath her clothes, eager to get started as soon as possible. James was quiet as he drove her into Forks but was pleasant enough when he dropped her off. He hadn't brought up his concerns since his father had warned him off, but she knew he wasn't entirely possible. Nora took it as a challenge to prove herself to him. To prove that she could take care of herself.

Today she was taking a class of five year olds who had just started and it took all of Nora's energy just to get them to stand still for five minutes. Eventually she got the fifteen girls and lone boy to practice stretching their legs to the floor. She remembered when she had had to do this at their age, and she had hated it then and she hated it even then. Then, with that done she led them in beginning to transition between first and second position. She ended them off with a game of duck duck goose just to let them run off the energy before she sent them home.

"Bye Miss Nora," chorused the little voices as they toddled out in their tutus, clinging to their mother's hands. Cody, the little boy who took the class, gave her a tight hug around the waist and smiled at her shyly. She wiggled her fingers back and winked, causing him to blush cutely.

Once the room was empty and she saw Debbie had taken in the older students to the other dance room, she closed the door tight and set up her own music. She decided on a dance she had been working on for the showcase, a dance she had not had the chance to perform in public, but that she was proud of anyway. It felt freeing to leap across the floor and spin as though nothing had changed in the last two or three months. Eventually, out of breath and her legs burning, she stopped, putting her hands on her knees and breathing in deeply. Sweat had collected on her forehead and across her collarbone and she felt a deep seated satisfaction in her bones.

There was a knock on the door and it opened slightly. James poked his head through and grinned at her.

"Looking good, Birdy," he said genuinely.

"Yeah?" she said breathlessly. "Thought you didn't like the idea."

He shrugged. "I figure dad's right. You know your limits, and besides, you look properly happy for the first time in a really long time."

She walked towards him and bumped him with her hip. "Take me home, Jeeves. I desperately need a shower."

* * *

Saturday evening and Nora was in her room trying to decide what was best to wear to a beach party. It wasn't Summer so it wasn't like it would be warm, but she also didn't want to deal with all the sand in her shoes and pants. Eventually she settled on a pair of jean shorts, her sandals, and sweatshirt with a fun pattern. She brushed out her long dark hair and studied the mirror self-consciously. Lord, what was wrong with her? She didn't even know why she cared so much.

James banged on her door. "Hurry it up, Nora!" he shouted. "I am leaving in five minutes whether you're in that car or not."

She opened the door and narrowly missed getting hit in the face. "I'm coming," she said, brushing past him. "Aren't you drinking tonight?" she asked, eyeing the keys in his hand.

He shushed her warningly and glanced down the hall to make sure his parents hadn't heard. "Say it louder Birdy, I don't they heard you over in Port Angeles."

"Sorry," she said simply. "But still, you're a terrible driver sober."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm driving there. I'll leave the car there and pick it up in the morning. I'm staying at Kaden's because his mom's on nights."

"And what about me?"

"Well, you can come home if you want or come back to Kaden's with us. He's got a spare bed since his sister moved out and I can take the couch."

"Always nice of you to let me know what's going on," she said dryly as she pushed past him and headed out to the car, calling out a goodbye to Therese and Robbie as she went. Toby had gone to stay at a friends for the night so her aunt and uncle were glad for some alone time.

James blasted his music on the drive to the beach and peeled into the lot at the top with a scary screech, swinging into a spot that looked far too small for his old Jeep. Hopping out she leaned against the door and took deep, steadying breaths.

"He trying to kill ya?" That was Kaden and he was clearly laughing at her as he walked over to James' car.

She shot him a withering look and straightened. "Whoever passed him should be tested."

"I think they just gave him his license so they didn't have to have him do the test again and put their lives at risk."

"Hey," James said, affronted. "You don't have to get a ride with me to school, or around the Rez, into Forks. You're free to walk."

"Aw you'd never make me do that, you love me too much for that," Nora said teasingly, tugging on her cousin's arm.

"Don't push your luck."

He led her down to the beach where they met up with Sarah and the others. Zack passed Kaden and James a beer, and offering one to her which she declined. They sat around a bonfire on bleached logs and Nora relaxed into the chilled out atmosphere. As the evening went on more and more people turned up and someone eventually set up a loud speaker and began playing music that carried down the beach. There were more bonfires than the one they were sitting around, at least four scattered down the beach. Teenagers and young adults congregated around them with drinks in hands, and some people sat in the sand between the fires. They were mostly couples looking for some privacy. She wondered if Brady and Collin were here with Seth, and whether or not she would see them. She couldn't imagine that they would be hanging out at the same bonfire. More than likely they'd be sitting around the one furthest down the beach. In fact, if she looked closely, the silhouttes of the people down there were rather large for a group so far away.

Georgina stumbled over to her drunkenly. "Nora can you put in a good word for me with James?" she whispered in her ear.

Nora turned to her in surprise and then looked carefully to her other side where Sarah sat. She looked decidedly annoyed at the other girl.

"Uh, I didn't realise you liked him," Nora said awkwardly.

"What's not to like?" Georgina exclaimed. "He's nice and cute and he's good to his family and he doesn't do drugs and he's so great," she rambled.

"Well, I guess I never saw that in him."

"Exactly," Georgina said sagely. "So can you help me?"

Not sure what to say, Nora nodded and smiled. Georgina beamed at her before turning on her foot and stumbling off.

"Be careful of that," Sarah said, rolling her eyes. "Georgina gets infatuated easily and it never lasts long. You may end up setting James up for a fall."

Nora nodded to acknowledge that she'd heard her but couldn't help but wonder how much of the warning was to do with her cousin's feelings over her own.

She was drawn from her thoughts by someone calling her name loudly. She looked up and scanned the crowd, wondering where it had come from and was surprised to see Seth walking her way.

"Hey Nora," he said brightly, ignoring the stares he was getting from the people around the bonfire. "Want to come and meet my friends?"

* * *

 **Hope you liked it! Let me know.**


	3. Chapter 3

I'll admit this was quicker than even I expected. Must be all the avoidance of my ever growing to-do list. Hope you enjoy it. Let me know if you do.

* * *

3.

Nora was extremely nervous as Seth led her away from her friends and over to his. James had seen her go, his jaw tensing until Sarah put a hand on his arm and whispered something to him which made him scoff and look away. Nora'd have to make sure she thanked her later. Seth tugged on her hand.

"Come on," he said, excited as a puppy, "You'll love them."

Treading across the sand Nora felt her stomach flip and turn. Seth squeezed her hand in his tightly. As they got closer she heard the laughter coming from the group, Brady and Collin front and centre, surrounded by a group of guys and a few girls. She thought she recognised one of the guys as Seth's friend from English. Some of the others she had seen around the Rez, at the local store when she had taken Toby for candy, even in here uncle's store one time. They might have been buying some camping gear but she couldn't quite remember.

"Hey guys!" Seth called as they approached, lifting a hand and waving enthusiastically. "This is Nora."

Nora waved awkwardly. "Hi," she said simply.

"Didn't think you'd get the nerves to come over Redtree!" Collin crowed, sweeping her up in a hug and spinner her.

"Put me down you animal," Nora laughed, slapping her on the shoulder.

"He's not wrong," Brady said, smirking. "James has you on a fairly tight leash."

She glared at him witheringly.

"Ignore them," Seth said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, this is the pack."

"The pack?" What a weird thing to call your friends.

"Just a nickname, don't worry," Seth shrugged.

"I'm Sam," said a guy who looked to be in his mid-twenties, the biggest of the lot. "This is my fiancé, Emily." Emily was beautiful, with shiny hair and dark eyes, though Nora had to work to stop herself from staring at the three deep scars that marred her features.

"Hi," she said cheerfully, hopping off the log and drawing Nora into a tight hug. "Seth has told us about you!" she winked.

The boy in question turned a little pink but Nora pretended not to notice. "Anyway, that's Jared and Kim," he said pointing to another couple who were lounging together in the sand. Both waved and smiled. "Paul," an angry looking young man who grunted in her general direction, "Quil's in our English class, that's Embry next to him, and that's Jacob over there."

She greeted each of them, smiling, trying to hide how anxious she was feeling with so many new people. The last one, Jacob, stood like Sam had done and walked closer to her. "Nice to meet you," he said, and then froze.

Nora blushed. Lord, he was attractive. He was big, tall and muscular with high cheekbones and a handsome face. She felt a pull towards him and she smiled shyly, a smile he returned slowly.

"God help us," the last unintroduced member of the group muttered from her seat behind Jared and Kim. Nora looked at her and was struck by how pretty she was, if unbelievably severe looking.

"Thanks Leah," Seth said, looking a little frustrated and narrowing his eyes. "That's my sister," he said sharply, tugging on Nora's hand, pulling her away from Jake and sitting her down next to him. Oddly, it felt like a loss as she left the taller boys side, but she didn't protest as Seth put an arm around her shoulder. She thought she heard a growl coming from somewhere but figured she must have imagined it.

"So your uncle owns that store over in Forks?" Jared asked.

Nora nodded. "I think I may have seen you there the other week?"

"Yeah, I was taking Kim camping and needed to get her some warmer gear."

"You planning to stick around for long?" Sam asked her casually but clearly probing. The rest stared at her intently. She felt Jacob's eyes burning into the side of her head.

"Uh, until I finish school at least," she said slowly. "Other than that, nothing planned."

"Junior right?" Quil added. "Though I've seen you're taking a few of the Senior courses."

Before she could answer Seth laughed nervously. "Come on let's leave the Inquisition behind guys, or she'll want to leave."

A little chagrined, the group apologised and the chat turned into the general goings on around the Rez and jokes between the group. Nora joined in when they could or when Seth pulled her into the conversation but mostly she just listened to the group and marveled at how in sync they were and they way they seemed to read each other's minds. Every so often she would glance over at Jacob and catch him looking back at her, and every time he would send her a gentle smile, before Seth would draw her attention back again. It was a nice way to spend her night, she thought, especially when she glanced back over to her cousin and realised that he'd been hitting the beer pretty hard. Him and the rest of his friends were getting louder and louder and were currently wrestling each other into the sand. She grimaced and thought about how easy it would be to get his keys off of him and try to drive home. Sure, she'd never done it before but it would be ten thousand times safer than letting him have the option of getting behind the wheel no matter what his plans were. Seth caught her staring and frowned at the group.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I should go and get his keys. Try and get myself home."

"I can go with you, if you want some company?" Jacob offered quietly.

Seth stiffened beside her and the rest of the pack fell quiet. Blushing, she nodded and stood, waiting for Jacob to join her. Silently, they walked back across the sand, Nora ignoring the harsh whispers that erupted behind them. Jacob smiled at her again.

"He have a way home?" he nodded towards James who was currently trying to clamber on Zack's shoulders.

Nora shrugged. "He said he was going to stay at Kaden's but I don't want him to be tempted to drive there so I'll take his car."

"Good plan," Jacob affirmed. Just then, James spotted them and his eyes narrowed. He hopped down and strode over to them, glaring at Jacob.

"Clearwater was bad enough Birdy, but now Black too," he slurred.

Embarrassed, Nora coughed and glanced at Jacob awkwardly. He didn't seem bothered. "I need your keys," she said simply, holding her hand out.

He eyed it carefully and then shook his head. "You can't drive Nora, I need my keys to drive my car."

"You can't drive tonight, I just want them to make sure you won't."

He rolled his eyes. "I would never," he protested.

Nora cut him off with a hand. "That's what lots of people say before they get behind the wheel pissed off their heads. Give me the keys," she said firmly.

Reluctantly, he fished them out of his pocket and dropped them in her open palm. "Are you going back over there?" he asked sulkily. He glanced behind him to where Trey and Zack were watching the three of them. "Trey wanted to hang out with you tonight."

Taken aback, she tried to fight down the blush that threatened to erupt on her cheeks. Behind her, she felt Jacob shift. "Another time," she said awkwardly, waving to her friends over James' shoulder. They waved back cheerfully. "Anyway, you enjoy your night," she said to her cousin, leaning up to hug him, a hug he returned but not without glaring at Jacob, an act he tried to hide but she caught the end of. To his credit, Jacob seemed unaffected.

"Nora, please don't try and drive my car," James looked legitimately worried. "I can't afford any repairs right now."

Putting the keys in her pocket she and Jacob walked back the way they had came. He nudged her gently in the side.

"You need a ride home?"

She stopped and looked at him. Jacob looked back at her, smirking. "James seemed really worried about his car."

Nora shrugged. "They have a great public transport system in Chicago."

"You've never driven at all?" he asked incredulously.

She shook her head. "There was no need to. Robbie and Therese are going to try and teach me while I'm here I think."

"Well, I can drive you home tonight," Jacob offered kindly. "I'll drive James' car for you so you don't have to worry about leaving it."

"You'd do that?"

The people here were truly the nicest she had met. Seth had tried his best to make her included, James' friends took her in as one of her own, and now Jacob was going out of his way to make sure she had a way home. Back home it was every girl for herself most days.

Twenty minutes later, she sat on her bed smiling, having just been dropped home by Jacob Black. After they had gotten back to the group by the fire they had dispersed and Nora had told Seth that Jacob had offered to drive her home. He hadn't look too pleased for whatever reason but hadn't caused a fuss. The others had said goodbye, Quil and Embry both grinning widely as they walked back up to the parking lot. She had worried that the car ride home would be extremely awkward but they had chatted quietly, Jacob asking her about how she was going in La Push and some of the things she was doing in school. He had pulled up the house and got out with her, tossing her the keys over the hood and saying goodnight quietly. He had insisted on walking back from her house, and strangely enough had headed into the woods, grinning cheekily as she waved goodbye. Therese had been up when she got in and hadn't asked about James, a knowing look in her eye, but had tried to get it out of her who had brought her home. Nora had remained tight-lipped and escaped upstairs with her aunt laughing after her. Something told her Therese had been peeking out the windows and knew exactly how she had gotten home not that Nora would ever give her the opportunity to quiz her.

As she fell asleep that night she couldn't shake the pair of dark eyes that were burned into her dreams.

* * *

Monday morning and Nora was dragging her feet through the doors wishing she was at the studio rather than here. James was behind her talking to Kaden going over all the events of the bonfire night. It seemed that after Jacob had dropped her off Zack and Georgina had hooked up and then Georgina had fought with Sarah about something the boys didn't have the details of. Nora could guess. She was also relieved that she had been nowhere near any of the drama though Sarah was sure to fill her in at lunch. James had also given her what he called, 'the hard truth' about Jacob Black and the pack. According to him they were all on steroids, had to be since they all got that big in a matter of months a few years back, and every since had walked around the Rez as if they owned it. He told her all of this with a scowl on his face, one that got worse whenever he mentioned Seth. She had listened without really paying any attention or taking any of it on board but promised James she would avoid them as much as possible. Not that she would be doing that no matter what he said.

"See you at lunch?" he said as he brushed past her, heading down the hallway with Kaden to their class.

"Yeah, sure," she said, stopping at her locker. Nora sighed when she couldn't immediately see the folder she needed. She began to dig around, cursing herself for leaving all of her things in there and not bothering to organise it.

"Ready for class?" a body thumped against the locker next to hers.

She smiled at Seth and shook her head. "Can't find my folder with that stupid assignment."

"You mean this one right here?" he leaned over her and plucked it out of the bottom shelf.

She sighed in relief and grinned at him. "You're a lifesaver, Clearwater."

"So did Jake get you home okay?" he asked airily as they started walking to class.

Nora fought to control the blush that threatened to spread. "Safe and sound as you can see," she reassured him.

"Good," Seth nodded, though he was frowning just a bit. "What about the pack? Are they as scary as James told you they'd be?"

She tried to deny that James had said anything but smiled sheepishly at Seth's raised eyebrow and knowing look.

"They were really nice," she said finally. She paused, "So Leah's nice."

Seth snorted loudly, drawing the attention of the students around them, "She's a nightmare, and we all know it so don't worry."

"I wouldn't have said nightmare, maybe a little blunt," Nora admitted.

"She was blunt when she was five," Seth said honestly, shrugging his shoulders.

Once in class Seth motioned for Nora to follow him to the back of the classroom where it seemed that Quil had saved the both of them a seat. She looked over to her usual spot and saw that it was occupied by a girl who had been sitting in the back row last week. Quil grinned at her and waggled his eyebrows.

"Welcome to the dark side," he crowed.

Seth rolled his eyes and gestured to the seat on the other side of his. "Ignore him," he advised her.

A little unsure she sat and put the folder on her desk which caused Quil to hang his head back and groan. "Crap, man, I totally forgot."

"At this rate you'll be a Senior again when Nora is," Seth laughed loudly.

Quil glared at him and then turned to Nora and shrugged. "Wouldn't be horrible company," he winked.

"You're repeating?" she asked him before she could stop herself, and then winced as she realised how rude she was being.

Luckily it didn't seem to bother Quil who just shrugged. "I worked a lot last year so missed some school. Promised my grandpa I would get my diploma though so here I am."

"A few of the guys were off for the same reason," Seth added. "Jake and Embry just got jobs though."

"Oh really? What do they do?" she asked trying not to give away the burning curiosity she felt at Jacob's name.

Quil looked at her knowingly and she looked away pointedly. "Jake's a mechanic, he set up a little shop in his backyard, Embry work for him."

"Oh wow, he's pretty young to own a business," Nora said surprised.

"The Council helped set him up with a loan, they're pretty keen on kick starting the local economy. Plus it helps us out on the Rez if we don't have to get into Forks when we need help with the cars."

Nora was impressed. Not many guys Jacob's age, he had to be around nineteen, would have the dedication to open up his own business. He could have just skated by like a lot of other guys did.

"Clearwater, Ateara and Redtree, the rest of us are trying to learn. Perhaps you would like to join us," Mr. Carter said cuttingly from the front of the class. "I see you've made a seating change Miss Redtree, I would advise you think carefully about choices before you make them."

Suitably chastised, Nora sank low in her seat as others in the classroom snickered. Both Quil and Seth seemed unaffected and laughed at her discomfort.

"So going back to your old seat tomorrow?" Seth teased as they walked into the hall.

Nora shook her head. "I don't mind sitting there. I can learn to ignore the two of you weirdo's."

Seth pulled her into a side hug and squeezed her tight, forcing the air out of her lungs. "Not so tight, Seth," she gasped.

"Oops sorry," he said apologetically letting her go and rubbing the back of his head. "I forget my own strength sometimes."

She wheezed a little bit and shook her head. "You're scary strong Seth, what, are you made of steel or something?"

"Something like that," he shrugged. He glanced at the clock on the wall and swore under his breath. "I've gotta run or I'll be late."

Turned out he had walked with her all the way to Biology even though his class was on the other side of campus. Hesitating slightly, he leaned in and gave her a quick hug before jumping back, blushing slightly, heading back in the direction they had came.

Feeling a little warm she walked into the classroom and saw Sarah waiting for her. "I saw you with Seth Clearwater outside," she hissed once Nora had sat down.

"Yeah, we sat together in English," Nora said.

Sarah shook her head. "Don't let James find out or he'll kill you and then go find Clearwater."

"What's his deal?" Nora sighed.

"I don't really know to be honest," Sarah said. "They've been like that since we were kids. But forget about that, did you hear about Saturday?"

In hushed whispers Sarah relayed the gossip from the bonfire. Apparently Georgina had been mooning after James after Nora had left but her cousin had either not noticed or cared. Georgina, playing the part of a woman scorned, had decided to flirt with Zack to try and make James jealous which had not worked. Sarah had made a comment that Georgina had taken offense at and it had devolved into a big fight between the two of them. Nora was exhausted just hearing about it.

"I don't know if she'll be sitting with us today," she said finally.

"What if she is? Do you want to find somewhere else?"

Sarah thought for a moment. "We'll see." She grinned at Nora mischievously, "Do you need a little company to get the courage to sit with Seth?"

"We're friends, Sarah," Nora insisted.

"Yep, okay," Sarah said loftily. "It's just, you should know, that Seth Clearwater hasn't shown any interest in the girls around here until you showed up. As far as I see it, it's a sign."

* * *

So I know some of you thought Seth was our imprinter but sorry to burst some bubbles! I love Jacob's character and was never keen on the Renesmee ending. It just seemed a little icky to me. So I'm ignoring its existence.

Let me know your thoughts, I would love to hear them.

Hannah :)


	4. Chapter 4

Hello, my next post. It took a little longer this time, I know. It's getting hectic the closer we are to the end of term and I am totally swamped at work. I am doing my best but bear with me. As always, I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

4.

"Did you have fun at the party?" Trey asked her in gym. They were playing on the same team and he had made his way to her side of the court as the game went on. He was smiling at her. She thought about what James had said about him wanting to hang out with her at the beach, and the hints he had been dropping in the last few days. She hoped that it wasn't as bad as she thought it may be because as nice as he was and as cute as she thought he was she just didn't feel anything for him except for friendship.

"I did, there was never anything like that back in Chicago," she answered.

"Yeah, James said you were too busy for much of a social life anyway."

She paused. "Oh yeah? What else has he been saying about Chicago," Nora queried suspiciously.

Trey shrugged. "Not much, just that you were at some fancy school on scholarship until you moved out here."

She peered at him closely. He sounded genuine, most people who found out had a note of pity in their voices when they talked about her life back in Chicago. "Yeah, I was. It's nice here though, I don't mind it."

"Glad to hear it," he grinned goofily. Nora couldn't help but return his enthusiasm. "I really – I mean we really like having you around."

She was determined to ignore the little slip up so changed the subject quickly, asking Trey about how his day had been. He had quickly launched into an explanation of every class he had attended and griped about the assignments that had been handed out. He wasn't too keen on school, as he had admitted to her early on in their friendship, and had grand plans on finishing school as soon as possible and finding a job, any job, that didn't require him to read or do math.

"Redtree, Nash!" their gym teacher, Coach Faiers, yelled at them from the sidelines. "In case you haven't noticed there's a game going on here so quit your flirting!"

Nora flushed a deep red and spluttered while Trey stiffened. He turned away from her abruptly and practically sprinted to the other side of the court as the rest of their team laughed loudly. She glanced around, embarrassed, and saw Collin shooting daggers at Trey. She wondered what his problem was. As far as she knew the animosity between James and Seth wasn't carried over by either of their friend groups, but Collin looked like he wanted to kill Trey. She watched as Brady stepped up to his side and whispered something in his ear and Collin said something back, rolling his eyes, and looking away from Trey. She shook her head and focused back on the game, realising the ball was making its way back to her end of the court. She hated basketball, she thought, and she was terrible at it which was why she hid in the corner and her team avoided passing her the ball at all costs. To Coach Faiers constant dismay it seemed she had not inherited James athleticism. She was so busy praying that the ball would never actually realise she was startled when she heard a sharp yelp across the court and saw Trey doubled over holding his stomach. Collin was by his side and she could see that he was apologising as he tried to help him up, though she was suspicious of the grin on his face.

"Littlesea!" Coach barked, throwing his hands in the air, "The ball goes in the net, not your team mates."

"Sorry Coach," he said, not looking sorry at all as Trey got to his feet. The bigger boy clapped him on the shoulder. "No hard feelings, right Nash?"

Trey glared at him, jaw tensed, but nodded. He ripped himself from under Collin's hand and stalked off the court in the direction of the gym doors, Collin looking unaffected as he walked casually back to Brady's side.

The game ended quickly after that and Trey never came back. She spotted him as she was leaving the gym, having skipped the shower because she was heading to the studio and would only get sweaty again, he was leaning against the wall talking lowly with James with a dark look on his face. She headed towards them slowly, not wanting to interrupt their conversation, waving to Collin and Brady as they called to her. Her cousin and his friend fell quiet as she approached them and Trey tried to smile.

"Hey how are you feeling?" she asked kindly.

"Just great," he scoffed, folding his arms. "I'll let you know how my hernia operation goes."

She opened her mouth to say something, to defend Collin a little, she was sure it was an accident, but James cut her off with a tap on her elbow. "Come on," he said sternly. "Dad wants me in earlier so we need to haul ass if you want to be dropped off in town."

She said goodbye to Trey, and followed James into the carpark, sliding into his passenger seat quickly and buckling herself in as quick as she could. She thanked her lucky stars for safety restraints as he peeled out of the lot slamming his foot down on the accelerator as he hit the straight roads.

* * *

"Nora!" her aunt called to her from the kitchen. Muscles aching, she lifted herself from the bed and padded along the hallway.

"What's up?" Nora asked wide-eyed as she took in her aunt running frantically about the kitchen. Her hair was loose and standing on end, Nora presumed from the heat that came from the cooktop and the stove. She was currently brandishing a knife towards Nora.

"We got an invitation from Billy Black to come to his barbeque and we never get invitations to those so we need to make a good impression," she rambled.

Nora stepped forward, wide-eyed, and carefully took the knife out of Therese's hand. "How about you point me in the direction of what you need done and I'll help you out."

Therese let out a sigh of relief and wrapped Nora in a tight hug. "It is so nice having some female company in this house. You know what Robbie and the boys did when they saw me in here?"

Nora shook her head.

"They practically ran out of the house, some bull about the store needing to be checked on! All three of them, as if! We aren't even open today," she despaired.

"Boys are boys Therese, they'd probably mess up your delicious food anyway," Nora said as she took Therese's place at the counter making the potato salad. Her aunt thanked her gratefully and went to the oven, pulling out a pan of something that Nora had never seen before.

"If this is Billy Black's barbeque, why are we cooking?" Nora asked her.

"You don't turn up to any party without a plate," Therese said simply.

She eyed the mountains of food that were littering the counter space in their kitchen and raised an eyebrow. "So," Nora began, "Who usually goes to these things?"

Therese paused. "You know," she said thoughtfully, "I don't really know. I assume the Clearwaters will be there, and maybe some of his son's friends. Old Quil I would think."

"And James is going to come?" Surely her aunt and uncle knew about the animosity James had with Seth and anyone associated with him.

"Barring serious injury, he will be," Therese said sternly. "You know," she said slyly, "I've heard that you've been spending a lot of time with Seth Clearwater."

Nora rolled her eyes. Small town gossip was a definite down side to La Push. "He's a good friend, and that's it," she said firmly.

Therese looked at her knowingly but didn't say anything more, just passed her a couple more potatoes to go into the salad.

"I feel like I should let you know that I know how you got home on Saturday," she added. Nora froze. "Whatever your cousin or others around here might say, Jacob Black is a nice boy."

Her aunt laughed as she spluttered, not letting her form a response before she was shoving another plate into her hands, this time stacked with brownies that looked extra chocolatey. "Cut those up for me, please?" she tasked her in a whirlwind.

As it turned out, James did not come home for the barbeque and no amount of effort on Therese's part could get him to meet them there, or go anywhere near the Black residence. Nora wasn't surprised but she was a bit disappointed that he wouldn't get to see how nice the guys were when you got talking to them. Luckily, Tobey was having the time of his life, and loved being surrounded by who he called 'the coolest guys on the Rez'. To their credit the boys entertained the rambunctious kid well, obliging him by letting him swing off his arms, while Therese despaired and Robbie laughed.

"You want a drink?" Jacob loomed over her holding out a can of lemonade. He grinned at her widely.

She smiled and nodded taking it off of him and shifting over as he took a seat next to her on the bench.

"Thanks for inviting us over," she said.

He waved her off. "Dad's idea," he said simply. Then turned red and spluttered. "Not that I didn't want you here," he explained quickly, "I wanted you here."

Nora laughed. "Sure sure," she smirked at him.

Silence fell between them, Jacob staring intently at his friends who were grouped around a table of food fighting over the plates and Nora happy to sit there quietly. Tobey had now gotten a hold of Seth and convinced him to heave the younger boy onto his shoulders as they ran around the yard yelling at everyone else. She smiled at her cousin who looked like he was having the time of his life. She would have to remember to thank Seth when she got a minute with him, so far all of his time had been taken up with entertaining Tobey.

"Hey listen," he said suddenly. "I'm not trying to put you on the spot here or anything, but would you say we're friends?"

Something in her stomach dropped and it was suddenly a lot harder to keep the smile on her face. "Yeah, I guess so," she said trying her best to sound cheerful.

"Great," he said cheerfully, standing up. "I just know what the people in this town can be like, the pack boys especially and I wanted to make sure they weren't making you uncomfortable." He patted her on the shoulder and then left her, passing Embry on his way to his dad, the other boy saying something to him but Jacob just walked right past, ignoring him. She watched him go, a little disappointed but immediately smacked her internal self silly. Lord what was wrong with her? She had known the guy for all of a minute and here she was letting herself get all moody because a nice boy just wanted to be friends with her.

Suddenly, his spot was taken by a familiar figure. Seth had managed to shake Tobey off, sending him off to bother Brady it seemed like, and was now lounging next to her.

"Those are the best brownies I've ever had," he told her earnestly.

"Trust me when I say I had nothing to do with them," she laughed, "Therese is a master of all things chocolate."

"While you're living there you need to just watch and learn," he said sagely.

"Trust me when I say I've tried, my skill lie elsewhere," she laughed.

The great thing about Seth, she had found, was that he didn't mind quiet. And Nora wasn't overly chatty, so found peace sitting next to the guy who was quickly becoming her best friend, and watching the world around them go by. Robbie and Therese were sitting with Sue Clearwater and the police chief from Forks, Charlie something or other, and they were all chatting happily. Everyone she had met at the bonfire at the beach were scattered around the yard, Sam and Emily chatting to Jared and his girlfriend Kim. Paul was talking earnestly to another girl that she hadn't met yet but Seth had told her that she was one of Jacob's sisters. He made it sound like they had a fair bit of history but didn't elaborate. Collin and Brady were both with Tobey, and Jacob had now joined Embry and Quill were standing with Jacob and Billy over by the barbeque.

As the sun lowered a chill spread across La Push and Nora bemoaned not bringing a jacket or wearing longer sleeves. She shivered. Seth must have noticed because he inched closer to her, the intense warmth enveloping her as she looked up at him and smiled gently. His eyes burned intensely, conflicted, as though he wanted to say something to her but couldn't. Their moment was over when a sharp voice called out too Seth.

"Seth!" Leah said sternly. "I need some help over here."

Sighing, he pushed himself up and ambled over to his sister, and Nora watched as Leah pulled him down to her side and whispered harshly into his ear, smacking him on the side of his head. Seth scoffed and rolled his eyes before following her inside.

"Nora honey, we're going to get going," Therese made her way over, "Tobey's beat." Sure enough, her little cousin was draped over his father's back with his eyes battling sleep as they fluttered.

Nora stood up and stretched, wishing she still had Seth's resting against her to fight off the cold. "Let me say goodbye," she said to Therese, yawning herself.

It didn't take her long to do her rounds, she made sure to thank Billy for inviting her, and let Jacob sweep her up into a tight hug, but it seemed like Seth had disappeared. Sue had promised to tell him she had said goodbye, which made her feel better, slightly. He had looked so upset about something, she worried, she would have liked to set her mind at ease by seeing him before she left.

Once they were in the car and settled, Tobey leaning up against Nora in the back seat of her uncle's truck, Therese turned on Robbie and glowered.

"Did you know that James was planning to stay out tonight?" she growled.

To his credit, Robbie did his best not to look terrified, though Nora caught the flash of panic in his eyes at being implicated in his son's refusal to attend the barbeque. "Of course not," he said weakly. "But it must have been a good reason," he lied, poorly.

Therese knew it too, Nora could tell, because she fixed her husband with the stare that only a mother could master. Robbie looked pointedly away, focusing on the road ahead. Nora had to stifle a giggle.

"That's fine," Therese said finally. "You can help him with all the washing up this week. Nora and I deserve a bit of a break I think."

He didn't even try to protest, just nodded meekly and swung into their drive. James' car was gone and Nora thought Therese might make another comment, but she just held the door open for Robbie and Tobey, patting Nora on the head as she passed her by. Nora went to her room and flopped on the bed and smiled. She'd had a nice night tonight, she realised. Sure, things with Jacob had got a little awkward and she'd have to squash this silly crush she'd developed but that was nothing that couldn't be fixed with a little distance and determination.

* * *

Let me know what you think. It's a bit shorter, but hopefully people are happy with the developments. I doubt that this will be an easy road for anyone involved. If you like it, leave it a review, or if you have an constructive criticism.

Hannah :)


	5. Chapter 5

Some stuff is starting to happen in this one. I really like telling this story and I just want to let the readers know how much I appreciate every favourite or follow or review. Really keeps the brain working. I know updates are becoming a bit more sporadic but I do work full-time in a fairly time consuming job so I do my very best. Bear with me friends!

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5.

"Come on, Nora," Sarah called to her from outside the movie theatre. Feeling stifled by life in La Push, so used to the city as she was, Nora had jumped at the chance to head into Port Angeles with Sarah and Dee. Georgina had apparently been invited but decided not to come with them because things between her and Sarah were still fairly awkward after the party.

"What are we seeing again?" Nora asked as she stepped next to her friends.

"Some romantic comedy," Dee said scrutinizing the poster closely. "Not usually my kind of movie but Chris Evans is a babe."

Nora looked at the poster and couldn't help but agree. It wasn't usually her kind of movie either but she was a fan of good-looking guys being on the big screen.

Sarah rolled her eyes at them and hurried them forward. "This is not just about the eye-candy. This movie and all great movies like them are about people overcoming the odds and finding love with a mixture of humour and emotional distress."

"Give me an explosion any day," Dee said conspiratorially, winking at Nora. She pushed past Sarah who spluttered indignantly. "Come on," she teased. "We don't want to miss the previews."

As the movie began, Nora was pleased that she wasn't completely and utterly bored. It was pretty funny, the main actress great, and like she had thought, staring at the scruff of Chris Evans was totally worth the whole adventure.

"So, what did you think?" Sarah asked smugly as they left the theatre.

"Wasn't the worst," Dee contemplated, "but throw me Charlie's Angels any day."

"I liked it," Nora said simply to put Sarah out of her misery. She looked dismayed at Dee's dismissal of what was clearly a new favourite.

"I knew you would," Sarah exclaimed, grabbing Nora's arm. "I knew all along they'd get together." There was something wistful in her voice that made Nora wonder if there was someone around that Sarah was pining after hard. And if she was, Nora didn't have to think too hard about who it was. But she knew better than to say anything right now, she really didn't want to risk losing one of her new friends.

"Anyway," Dee said as she caught up to them, "Did you want to do a bit of shopping while we're here?"

Sarah nodded. "Might as well, it'll probably be a while before we get out here again."

Nora perked up at the thought of doing some shopping. She had just gotten paid by Miss Debbie and the money was burning a hole in her pocket, and even though she knew she should put it away somewhere safe, the temptation of new things was way too strong.

As the day went on, Nora realised how much she missed hanging out with girls her own age, that weren't consumed with winning their place in the company and taking any and all opportunity to get to the top of the class. Not to say she didn't have friends back the Academy, because she did, or she had once upon a time, but relaxed companionship had been seriously lacking in recent years.

"What about this one?" Sarah held up a leopard print jacket that burned Nora's eyes. Seeing Sarah's enthusiasm for it she tried to smile in encouragement.

"Yep, love it," she said, not even convincing herself.

Next to her, Dee scoffed. "It's hideous, Nora's too nice."

Sarah scowled but put it back on the rack. "I saw Nicole Ritchie wearing one in a magazine," she said stubbornly.

"I bet it was just as hideous when she wore it too," Dee said plainly. "This however," she said, pulling out another jacket from the same rack, army green and with big pockets, "would suit you to a tee." She pushed it to Nora.

She took it, and looked at it closely. It was pretty cool, and it looked warm, something she definitely needed. She'd had heavy coats back home, she'd had to during Winter, but they were mostly for the snow, or they had gotten a bit old. She had that money now, she reasoned, and it would get a lot of use. Mind made up, she draped it over her arm and nodded.

Sarah looked a little put out. "I liked that one too," she grumbled.

"You can have it if you want?" Nora said unsurely, suddenly worried that she'd upset Sarah.

Dee stepped in and pushed Nora's arm back down and turned to Sarah sternly. "Don't be such a baby," she admonished. "You and I both know you're going to get the leopard one no matter what I say."

The other girl brightened and shrugged her shoulders, reaching back into the rack and pulling out the first jacket. "You're right," she said happily. "This is cool, and no one else has one."

Checking her watch, Nora's eyes widened. They'd been at this for hours, she realised, it was near dinner and she'd promised Therese she wouldn't be out late. "Crap," she said, "they're going to kill me."

"Who?" Sarah said, looking over from where she was now admiring a garish neon pink shirt.

"My aunt and uncle," Nora said, "I told them I'd be home by now."

"Oh," Dee said, checking her own watch. "I didn't realise it had gotten so late. We may as well eat while we're out here."

Nora considered it. It would take them a while to get back to La Push and she was already getting pretty hungry. "Do either of you see a pay phone? I'll need to call home."

"I think there was one just outside. Do you want us to come?"

Nora shook her head. "No, I'll go and call and meet you outside when you're done." She took her jacket to the counter and paid quickly, checking she had enough coins to make her call before heading out. She didn't have to look far, spotting the phone just down the street, so she headed over and slipped inside the glass box. Slipping in the coins and dialing the numbers, James answered the phone.

"Where are you?" he asked, once she told him it was her calling. "Mom's been freaking out."

"Sorry," she said. "We lost track of time, we're still in Port Angeles. Can you put Robbie or Therese on?"

He agreed and Nora heard him calling out for his mother before she took the phone. "I was worried sick Nora, we thought you'd be home hours ago."

Nora winced. "I'm so sorry Therese, we honestly just lost track of time," she explained. "We did a bit of shopping after the movie. Sarah and Dee want to eat while we're here, is that okay?"

It felt a little weird asking for permission to eat out when she'd been making her own decisions for so long but she knew that this was part of living with adults again. Her aunt took a while to answer but Nora felt relieved when she did. "That's okay," Therese agreed. "Just let me know if your plans change next time, yeah?"

"Yeah, I promise, Therese," she said, hanging up and stepping out into the street. The sun had set and a chill had settled in the air. Nora looked around, trying to spot the girls but couldn't see them anywhere. She figured they were still browsing so set off back to the store she had come from but was unnerved by the odd feeling that came over her as she walked. It was like she was being followed, or watched, a presence at her back that caused her to tense all over. Subtly, she glanced over her shoulder but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Teenagers like herself, families, couples, all out shopping or going to dinner or heading to dinner. Still, she couldn't quite shake the feeling that something wasn't right so she was beyond relieved when she came across the girls just exiting the store as she walked to the door.

"Everything okay?" Dee asked her, looking closely at Nora's slightly unsettled face.

She nodded. "It's nothing," she assured them. "Therese said it's fine to grab some food here," she told them to her friend's delight.

"I know the best burger place," Sarah said happily. "I need a double patty and an obscene amount of cheese," she sighed in contentment.

Dee laughed at her and poked her in the stomach. "Don't forget that dress you just bought needs to fit you still in two months."

Sarah scowled at her and then patted her own stomach fondly. "No dress or dance is going to stop me eating what makes me happy. I can't live like that."

"What's happening in two months?" Nora asked as they walked, a little lost by the conversation.

Dee stopped in the street and stared at Nora incredulously. "Has no one told you about the dance?"

Nora shook her head, eyes wide at the horror that had overtaken Dee. "It doesn't seem to have come up."

"Ugh," her friend groaned. "What is wrong with your cousin. I bet he's given you the complete schedule on school sports but can't be bothered with the actually important information clearly."

"Look, we're here. We'll go in and order and then Dee can plug the holes in your knowledge of the Rez school life."

Nora loved walking into the little diner, all decked out like the movie Grease, and seeing the cool plates and glasses that were on the tables. Just the novelty of being able to eat a burger without then doing four hours of intensive dancing to work it off was something new for her. She took advantage of it and ordered a chocolate milkshake with extra ice-cream and cheese fries with her burger. Sarah laughed and ordered the exact same thing while Dee looked at them strangely.

"Now," her friend said when their drinks had come. "Back to this dance business. Surely you'd been to one before?"

Nora hesitated. "Well, actually, no," she admitted.

Dee was mortified. "Why wouldn't you go the dances you loon!" she exclaimed.

"The school didn't actually hold any, so it's hardly my fault," Nora defended herself.

"What kind of school doesn't do dances?"

"The kind that teaches it professionally," she shrugged. She had been invited to one once, by a boy that lived in her building, but the times had clashed with one of her rehearsals and she had had to turn him down. He'd been nice about it but things were a little awkward after that in the stair well.

"Professionally?" Dee asked, confused, and Nora quickly realised she hadn't told her other friend about her time in Chicago. In fact, she wasn't entirely sure how much Sarah even knew.

"I'm a ballet dancer, or I was," she said simply. "I had a scholarship to this academy out in Chicago, so most of my time was spent in the studio."

"So what are you doing out here?" Dee asked, ignoring Sarah's warning look.

Luckily, Nora was spared from answering right away as their waitress returned with their food and she took a big bite out of it, nearly groaning with pleasure. While she chewed she debated what it was she wanted to say. "I had some… issues," she said finally. "It's a very intense and competitive world and to be a success you need to make certain sacrifices. To start with, I made them happily, but then I got hurt and things changed a little. Therese and Robbie took me in."

"What about your parents? Your dad's Quiluete isn't he?"

She nodded. "He's still out in Chicago, drinking and gambling with his new wife by his side. I haven't seen my mom in years," she shrugged.

"You must be pretty close with Robbie and Therese then if you were okay moving all the way out here with them."

"I am, yeah," she agreed. "Therese has called me twice a week since I was six years old, and Robbie's always been more of a dad than my own. They're the ones who flew out to make sure I got to my auditions, helped me write all the applications, made sure I had everything I needed. James and Tobey are more brothers than cousins."

"James never really said all that," Sarah said quietly, looking at Nora from under her brows.

"I asked them not to. It's bad enough moving to the other side of the country without everyone knowing what a shit storm your life has been in recent years."

"So why tell us?"

"Well," Nora said slowly. "We're friends."

Dee grinned at her brightly and Sarah let out a little whoop. "I knew it!" she exclaimed. "I knew you liked us more than you let on!"

Nora was glad when the conversation turned after that and the girls left thought of her previous high school experiences behind as they talked about the dance. IT seemed like the kids on the Rez had gotten tired of hearing about the Forks kids getting dances without any of their own so the two schools had sat down and planned out a schedule where the two groups of kids attended the same dances. It was fun, Sarah assured her, to see and hang out with people that they didn't normally see and flirt with boys that they didn't usually flirt with.

"Although," Dee said slyly, "You might not get the opportunity to flirt with all that's on offer because I guarantee you're getting asked soon." She looked very pleased with herself and Nora tensed.

"Who?" she asked in dread.

Dee mimed locking her lips and throwing the key over her shoulder. "Sworn to secrecy," she said smugly.

Nora prayed to whoever was up there that it wasn't Trey. James had been dropping lots of hints, and when she thought about there was the incident in gym the other week. He was such a nice guy, and it was strange that she didn't see anything there, six months ago she would have been flattered. But now, there was something blocking any feelings but friendship for him.

"Speaking of boys and dating," Sarah said, also looking at Nora. "What's the deal with you and Seth Clearwater?"

Nora shrugged. "He's a good friend."

"It's so weird," Sarah said, head in her hand, "he's not paid attention to anyone that isn't part of that gang for a few years. All of a sudden he's hanging all over you."

Nora couldn't help the hurt she felt at her friend's comment. Sarah sounded utterly incredulous, as though it was so unbelievable that a cute guy would show her any attention. She knew she was no great beauty but she had always felt she was cute enough. She had great legs, if anything, with all of her training. And no matter what she had done she had always had a somewhat sizeable chest, which had definitely been a topic of snide conversation with her ballet instructors over the years.

Sarah seemed to notice Nora's uneasiness because she was quick to reassure her. "Not that he couldn't be interested in you," she tried to explain. "It's just… it got so weird when they all got together, like, one minute they were normal kids, skinny and gangly and nothing out of the ordinary, and overnight they were soaring past six foot and looked like they'd been in the gym since they were in diapers."

Now she thought about it she remembered James complaining about it years ago, when he had been a freshman, and a friend of his had ditched him for what he thought was drugs of some kinds. She wondered if it had been Seth. It would explain why there was so much tension now, if they had been friends before. She'd have to ask one of them someday, if she ever worked up the nerve.

It was late by the time they finished and a lot of the people that had been around earlier had already left. Sarah and Dee seemed unconcerned but Nora still felt uneasy. It had been fine in the diner with her friends and with everyone else, but the feelings that she was being watched had come back. It was the prickling feeling at the back of her neck and the way the hairs on her arm stood at end. She tried to rush them to the car but they were happy to meander along.

"Chill out," Sarah said to her, rolling her eyes. "It's Port Angeles, not New York."

"Exactly," Dee added. "Plus you're from Chicago, aren't you used to dangerous cities."

"Which is why something does not feel right," she snapped at them. Sarah and Dee exchanged a look, but said nothing, and didn't protest when Nora picked up the pace again, walking quickly to keep up with her.

The feeling didn't fade even as they slid into the car, Nora fidgeting uncomfortably as Sarah struggled with getting the key in the lock. Suddenly her lights came on, illuminating a dark figure that was stood facing them head on. Clothed in the darkness Nora could not make out who it was, what it was, except they were tall and intimidating. In a flash, they were gone, and the three girls sat in the car, on the edge of their seats, wondering if they had imagined the whole thing.

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As always, leave some feedback - whether that be constructive about writing styles, or characterisation, plot... I do appreciate it all. I have a long weekend coming, five days off woo so hopefully I can get some work done on the next chapter.

See you soon,  
Hannah :)


	6. Chapter 6

Hello, little bit later than usual but I've been struck down with one hell of a head cold. And just as I start my work break too! But here's the next chapter. As always, let me know what you think.

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6.

They didn't talk on the drive home until they were pulling off the Highway and into Forks, at which point, Sarah turned to Nora wide-eyed and still shocked.

"Are we going to talk about whatever that was?"

Dee didn't say anything, so Nora took a deep breath. "I honestly don't know, but it wasn't normal." She was still freaked out by it because whatever it was had a human shape and in the dark could have been mistaken for any one they went to school with but the movement had just been so _fast_.

"It was dark, and we'd had a lot of sugar at dinner. I think we're just imagining things," Dee said decisively from the driver's seat.

"All of us imagining the same thing?" Sarah asked skeptically.

Dee nodded fiercely. "Shared experiences and all that. It's dark, we're tired, it was just some creep trying to freak us out."

Nora wasn't convinced but she could tell that both Sarah and Dee wanted to believe it, and really, Nora did too. Because the alternative just wasn't possible.

After that Sarah made a concentrated effort to keep the conversation going in the car so Nora did her best to respond where possible, as did Dee. It seemed that as soon as they turned towards Forks it was no time at all until they were on La Push Road and heading back to the Rez. When they pulled into her drive to drop her off Nora could see the front curtains twitch, surely Therese waiting by the window, so she thanked her friends quickly, said she'd see them tomorrow and hurried to the front door. She wasn't sure what to expect because it wasn't a situation she had encountered before.

"Did you have fun?" Therese asked her, smiling.

Nora nodded.

"Good," her aunt said. "It's good for you to get out with friends. Just," here she fixed her niece with a pleading look, "let us know where you are hon, we worry."

She promised and apologised for not paying attention, but her aunt seemed to understand, after all it was Therese who had clicked on to how little supervision Nora had had when she was with her dad and decided to intervene. Heading to her room, she passed James open door, and he smirked at her as she walked by and called her in.

"How much trouble are you in?" he asked her.

She shrugged. "None," she said simply. "Just a reminder to let people know where I am."

James groaned and flopped back on his bed, throwing a toy basketball up in the air. "You're not even their kid and you're their favourite child."

"I'm prettier than you, I can't help it," she laughed.

He scowled and threw the ball at her, which she caught thanks to her surprisingly quick reflexes. "What did you guys do anyway?"

"Movies, dinner, shopping," she shrugged. She threw the ball back at him and frowned exaggeratedly. "By the way, cousin of mine, you forgot to tell me about the all-important high school dance that's coming up."

"Ha!" he laughed. "I'd forgotten all about it, to be honest."

"Well," Nora began, rolling her eyes. "You'll be in trouble with the girls. They're very excited."

A thought hit her suddenly. This might be the perfect opportunity to do a little investigating. "Sarah's already scoping out potential dates," she said slyly, watching her cousin for his reaction.

It was minuscule, and if she'd blinked she'd have missed it, but James tensed and flushed a little. Maybe he was not as unaffected by his friend as he liked to come off. "Yeah? Who's she talking about?"

Nora waved her hand in the air casually. "Just a few senior boys who've been flirting at school, not sure what their names are," she stood and stifled a giggle at the panic on James' face. "Anyway, I'm exhausted, so I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

Proud of her match-making attempts, she left him there and got herself ready for bed in the bathroom, jumping in the shower quickly before laying in her bed and pulling out a book from her night stand. She'd told James she was tried but it was only half-true. She was sure, it had been a long day, but she was wired and she couldn't get the dark figure out of her head. She knew that her friends were probably right, that it was just their imaginations running wild, but she'd always been too curious for her own good, and stubborn too. She knew that the mystery would haunt her well in to the night, so she did her best to chase it away with cheesy love stories that helped her brain to switch off.

* * *

"So I heard you've been told about the dance," Trey said to her as he caught up to her and James in the school parking lot. God, Nora thought, that hadn't taken long at all.

"Yeah," she said shortly, not sure she wanted to know where this was going, but smiling at Trey anyway so as to not hurt his feelings. He looked nervous.

"All right, cool," he said, and then paused. He looked like he was gearing himself up to say something but was suddenly interrupted by another presence at her side.

"Morning Nora," Seth bounded up beside her and slung his heavy arm over her shoulder. He nodded to Trey and James, both of whom scowled at him. "Got to borrow you for a sec," he said, steering her away, but looking back to call over his shoulder, "She'll catch back up with you boys."

Faintly, she heard James protesting and Trey telling him to leave it, his tone a bit dejected, but she appreciated his attempts to calm down her cousin. She looked up at Seth and whacked him in the stomach at the self-satisfied grin on his face. "You're as bad as each other," she said dryly.

"Me?" he faked affront but the mischief in his eyes was undeniable, "I'm an angel." He still hadn't taken his arm off her shoulder and as warm as he was she felt comforted by the weight.

"What did you want, Clearwater?" she asked him, rolling her eyes.

"A new car, to graduate early, true love…" he trailed off.

She couldn't help but laugh. "Can't help you with any of that, sorry Seth."

He looked down at her closely and smiled ruefully. "Yeah, I know."

Nora couldn't help the blush that fell across her cheeks at his look, his dark eyes intense on her own, and coughed awkwardly. "Do you need help corralling the trouble twins?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"Not a bad guess," Seth said, shaking himself out of whatever that moment had been. "It's been a long semester and I guess they're feeling a little stir-crazy."

"And what does that mean?" she asked warily.

"It means," Seth said cheerfully, "prank time." He had brought her to their destination, one of the picnic benches outside, at one of which sat Collin, Brady and Quil from English.

Collin made a show of standing to bid her welcome, flourishing an arm to her seat to keep up the act, and staying on his feet until she sat. "Alright," she began, "what have I been dragged out here for?"

"Nora Redtree," Collin said lowly, "we invite you to join this most secretive and prestigious extra-curricular activity. In fact, so secretive, no one can know about its existence."

"How can it be an extra-curricular if the faculty can't know about it?"

He shot her a cutting look. "These are the bonds of brotherhood, of loyalty, of building ingenuity."

"You want me to be look-out while you do something, don't you?" Nora asked dryly.

Collin blushed and spluttered. Brady rolled his eyes and shoved his best friend in the shoulder as the two other boys laughed. "Yeah, if you wouldn't mind. Could use the extra pair of eyes."

Nora shrugged. "I have nothing better to do," she grinned.

And that was how she found herself, ten minutes later, standing underneath an open classroom window, looking furtively around for any witnesses while four overgrown teenage boys argued inside the building.

"No, give it here," Seth was whining, followed by sounds of a scuffle.

"Would you hurry up?" Nora hissed, looking around nervously. If they didn't get out of there soon they'd be caught, and Nora along with them.

"Relax Nora," Seth said as he jumped to the ground beside her, grinning widely. "Trouble twins were holding us up."

"Thanks Nora," Quil said, clapping her on the shoulder as he too dropped down to the ground, seemingly effortlessly

"What did you do?" she asked as they led her away. "And where are the other two?" she looked over her shoulder as though expecting to see them bounding along behind them.

"Gone out through the door," Seth said. "And you'll have to wait and see," he said mysteriously.

She ended up walking to English with Quil and Seth, and taking a seat with them in the back, as had become part of her routine. James had been making snide comments about it since he found out but Nora decided she didn't really care. Like she had told the girls the night before, Seth was a good friend, and Quil was really funny when he wanted to be and no griping from an over-protective cousin would change anything.

"Which room was it?" she asked out of the corner of her mouth.

"Simons," Seth said smugly, leaning back and folding his arms across his chest. Nora fought to stop herself staring at the bulge of his biceps.

"Why Simons?" Nora groaned. He was the math teacher, and Nora had him for pre-calculus. Approximately eighty-five years old and a strict teacher who was easily irritated and prone to handing out detentions like lollipops at a doctor's appointment. She had his class in a couple of hours and she just knew he would be in an awful mood after whatever it was the boys had done.

"Because Simons gave Collin a detention for talking when it was the kid in front and the boys needed very little encouragement."

Shaking her head, Nora focused back on the lecture they were being given by Mr. Carter, which she knew would be important for the stupid assignment that she had yet to make any start at all on and Seth hadn't been kidding when he said he wouldn't be around much to help. He'd made it to maybe three days of school in the last couple of weeks. Collin and Brady hadn't been in gym for a while.

As they left class and Nora waved off Seth's offer to walk her to Biology and took off. The novelty of a normal curriculum was starting to wear off as she walked slowly through the halls, in no rush to get to her next class. If she were a bit more rebellious, she would probably skip and just head back home. It was an appealing thought, she knew that Therese and Robbie were both at the store and Tobey was at school himself so it wasn't like anyone would find out. She wrestled with herself because it was so tempting but eventually decided that the guilt that would gnaw at her stomach wasn't worth it so she begrudgingly went inside and sat down at her seat next to Sarah.

"So Trey was bummed that you ran off this morning," Sarah said leadingly as they waited for class to start.

"Do you think he was going to ask me to the dance?" Nora said tentatively.

Sarah shrugged. "Probably, he's asked me about it, advice or something. He might chicken out now that Seth Clearwater is all over you."

"He's not all over me," Nora squeaked.

"He _so_ is," Sarah scoffed. "It's like he's marking his territory," she explained, waving her hand in the air. "See, boys are like dogs. They're possessive and jealous, and every time Trey or someone shows a little interest in you, Seth is right there, or one of his buddies is."

"I'm not property," Nora bristled.

"No one said you were," Sarah soothed. "I probably didn't explain it very well. What I meant was that boys scare off other boys by making you seem off-limits."

"Well," Nora huffed. "I still don't like that."

"You are a strong, independent woman, hear you roar," Sarah smirked.

Nora rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Nora moved around the room, watching as the kids span around wildly. She smiled at them fondly, they had worked hard in their lesson, determined to impress their teacher. She had let them have free dance time to end it all and she was surrounded by giggles and spinning children, grasping at her hands. She smiled and let one of the girls, a little girl from the Rez called Neveah, take her by the fingers and drag her across the room. She couldn't help but laugh at their enthusiasm. Soon enough, Nora spotted parents peering in through the windows and smiling at their kids happy smiles.

She clapped her hands to get their attention and moved to turn the music off. "Thanks so much everyone," she said cheerfully. "I'll see you next week."

Waiting as they said goodbye, accepting hugs and high fives, and even a shy little kiss on the cheek from the lone boy in class, Nora checked to see that Miss Debbie did not need to use the room she was currently in. All she had been thinking about all day was being on her own in the studio, blasting her music, and going all out. When the last child had left through the door and their parents had waved her goodbye, she closed off the studio and padded over to the speaker system. She flipped through tracks until she found the one she was looking for and then she was gone. Music blasting, she span and twirled, and pushed herself onto her toes. Nora felt weightless.

Unsure of the time passing, she was startled when she heard clapping coming from the entrance. Hand on her chest, she turned to face her audience quickly and was surprised to see Jacob watching her, grinning.

"Nice moves, Fancy-feet," he commended, raising an eyebrow.

She huffed a laugh, out of breath. "How did you know where I was?" she asked curiously, putting her hands on her hips as she walked towards him.

He shrugged. "Asked around."

Shaking her head she turned the music off and paused. "I don't think that anyone we speak to in common even knows I come here."

"You don't know everyone I speak to, beautiful."

She battled to suppress the blush that threatened to erupt on her face because of the nickname. Nora knew he meant nothing by it, he had said it himself, they were friends. Just friends.

"Anyway," he went on, not noticing, "I came to see if you wanted to hang out tonight. The pack's going to be at Sam's and you should come."

She agreed without hesitation. For whatever reason, and somewhat surprisingly, she felt no nerves about being around the group of boisterous boys. They had all been nice when she met them, even Paul, the grumpy one had been good with her. Jacob smiled at her and said he'd wait outside until she was done.

"Okay," she said, "but we'll have to stop by the store so I can tell James that I'm getting a ride home with you."

Unconcerned Jacob nodded and left to wait for her by the car. After she had gotten changed and packed away after herself she was met by a giggling Miss Debbie and the receptionist Jenny. They waggled their eyebrows at her suggestively and Miss Debbie pointed to where Jacob was leaning against his car. He had folded his arms over his large chest, the muscles in his biceps bulging attractively, and his face was titled to the sun, the light highlighting the angles of his high cheekbones and the bright spark in his coal-black eyes.

She felt the blush from earlier creeping back so she hurriedly said goodbye and rushed outside.

Jacob laughed when he saw her and winked.

Jaw dropped, she reached out and smacked his arm. "You did that on purpose you tool!" she exclaimed.

"Who? Me?" he said innocently, but smirking dangerously. As Nora jumped into the passenger seat, Jacob turned around and waved enthusiastically to Miss Debbie and Jenny, who giggled like school girls behind their hands. Nora sunk in her seat and groaned.

From behind her fingers, she pouted. "They're not going to leave me alone, now."

"Don't worry about it, beautiful, you can't help what God gave you."

It was fun sitting in the car with Jacob, the two ribbing each other, and the back and forth coming so naturally between them. As he pulled into the lot in front of her family's store, she expected him to wait inside the car for her to return, but was pleasantly surprised when he got out to join her.

"I'll only be a second," she told him as she looked for James down the aisles.

She waved to Isaac, a senior from Forks High School who Robbie had hired to work for them, and asked him where James was.

"Should be over by the hiking boots," he told her, friendly as ever. "Your uncle left him a lot of stock to keep him busy."

Nora smiled and thanked him, pulling Jacob along behind her. As she turned the corner she spotted her cousin and called out enthusiastically.

"Hey Birdy," he said, eyeing Jacob carefully. "What's up?"

"Jacob picked me up from the studio to hang out," she explained. "I think we're going to the Uley's?" she looked back at Jacob for confirmation.

He nodded back at her, hands in his pockets.

James furrowed his brow and opened his mouth, but seemed to think better of whatever it was he was going to say with Jacob standing right there, and just nodded at her and smiled slightly. "You going to be home for dinner?"

Before she could answer Jacob threw an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close. "Emily cooks up a mean feast, I doubt she'll want to leave when she smells it."

Not taking his eyes off of where Jacob's arm rested, her cousin nodded. "I'll let Mom know," he said tightly. To Jacob, he said, "you going to be dropping her home?"

When all was organised, and Jacob reassured James that she had a ride home, she let him pull her out of the store, barely having time to wave goodbye.

"I'm sure Emily will still have enough food to feed you," she said, laughing as she clicked her seat belt in.

He turned to look at her with big eyes, pouting, "Seth's been there since school let out and he never shares," he whined.

"For goodness sake," she said disbelievingly. "You're all children at heart aren't you?"

He poked his tongue out at her teasingly as he started driving again and Nora let herself fall back into the comfortable conversation she found so easy with him. Soon enough, they were driving back through the Rez and its twisting roads, until he pulled into the long drive of a cute little cottage house, set back near the forest edge.

"Wow," she whispered. It looked like something out of a fairytale, she thought, and she could see all the home touches that Sam and Emily must have put in place. A beautiful wind chime hanging over the stairs to the front porch, a woven welcome rug at the door. Nora looked at it all and felt at home.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice," Jacob said smugly, as though it was his own. "Come on, Emily has been dying to see you."

No sooner had she stepped out of the car was the woman in question coming through the front door, glowing smile on her face and a friendly welcome in her eyes. She was as pretty as Nora remembered, and she barely noticed the scars crossing her face.

"I'm so happy you could come," she said, taking Nora by the arm as she walked up to the porch, leading her into the house. The inside was just as lovely as the outside, knitted throws on the comfortable couch, photos hanging from the walls, and the smell of something yummy floating from the kitchen.

"It's beautiful, Emily," Nora said, awed and taking it all in.

Emily blushed. "it's nothing special," she protested.

"No," Nora said firmly, "it's home."

"Come on," Jacob said quietly from behind her, "I think the others have heard you by now." Once again, he took her arm and walked with her through the house and out into the backyard, an open space that was basically the forest. They made an imposing group, when they were all together and Nora faltered slightly the closer they got. There was just so many of them, and they were very intimidating, but then she spotted Seth, who was standing in front of the others and grinning at her widely. She felt herself start smiling in response and the nerves faded away. She was distracted by Jacob tugging on her lightly, and she turned to see his own grin, getting rid of her nerves completely as he walked her over to the group.

* * *

Hopefully a new chapter will be up soon, but I don't have a day set in stone yet.  
My intent with this story is not to be a love triangle, but I found that as I was writing, Nora and Seth had such a connection with one another outside of an imprint and I wanted to explore that a little, and work out what issues would arise within the pack and the different relationships as it goes on.

Let me know your feedback.  
Hannah :)


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